"I commit to aggressively deciding not to decide."

So “agnostic definition” is something the Google searchers wants to know today. My guess is that it doesn’t have all that much to do with religion, which is typically how the word is applied. It does have other uses, though. Courtesy of the New York Times‘ “Word of the Day,” here’s a snapshot:

agnostic •\ag-’näs-tik, əg-\• noun and adjective

noun: someone who is doubtful or noncommittal about something
noun: a person who claims that they cannot have true knowledge about the existence of God (but does not deny that God might exist)
adjective: of or pertaining to an agnostic or agnosticism
adjective: uncertain of all claims to knowledge

Obama’s budget: vocabulary lesson or endless cash loan?

The Swamp recently ran an article with the headline “Obama ‘agnostic’ about deficit solutions.” Getting the tremendous federal deficit under control could easily lead to higher taxes for the middle class, but Obama has vowed not to do this. Rather than grab for that all-too-obvious political theology, he’s remaining “agnostic” and waiting for new ideas.

No new taxes, no new cuts?

Obama told the press we can’t simply “cut our way out of this problem.” A combination of tax spurts and cuts on Social Security and Medicare may be the road Obama travels, but he gave Bloomberg no definite indication. Again, he’s remaining “agnostic,” as politicians are wont to do when the cameras are running.

Must… remain… non-committal

I understand political gamesmanship. I also understand that repairing something as large as our national debt is a tremendously complex task. Obama’s proposed budget cuts it down to $1.267 trillion, which improves on the $1.56 projection – but he’s eyeing $727 billion by 2013! Remaining agnostic won’t get you very far, as tough decisions will have to be made right away to meet a 2013 deadline. The recession has only made that road harder to travel, and more people are looking to cash loans than ever. Make a decision and stick with it.

(Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/ / CC BY 2.0)

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